Wanderlust
by cactu5stroker
Summary: After a random rushed phone call, best friends Clary and Jace embark on a bucket list journey across the world. Seems perfect, right? But with the media's flashing camera on their backs and each list kept secret from the other, catastrophe trails behind them while they grow closer with each location.
1. Chapter One - Preparations

**Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters from The Mortal Instruments.**

Chapter One – Preparations

Clary heard a distant noise, sounding faraway as if she was submerged underwater. The incessant sound continued pestering her ears as she buried her face deeper into the plush assorted cushions and pillows which swarmed around her welcomingly. There was no point in how hard she refused the get up, the unwanted noise didn't back down its rampage through the languid silence of the early morning, ringing mercilessly until the small figure angrily pulled off the tangled mess blankets off of her body. Curly hair spiralling out of control around her face, an oversized band tee slinging loosely down one shoulder, teeth gritted in a indignant way at whoever had disturbed her sleep, this was definitely not Clary Fray Morgenstern's strongest look. The media would have sold their souls for a glimpse of the newest upcoming artist and daughter of multi-billionaire in this state.

Groping for her phone where the ringing seemed to be originating from, Clary slumped down onto a hammock on the vast balcony, giving her a stunning view of London, today being a rare day in which the city had decided to appear from the murky fog and rain which usually weathered it. Being the heiress to a globally successful company, she currently lived in converted warehouse which she herself had designed, the highlight of hoards of architecture magazines. Glancing at the caller ID, Clary drew a resigned sigh before clicking answer.

"Jesus Clary, I thought you would never pick up." She did her trademark eye roll.

"What do you expect, calling at this ungodly hour?" She could almost feel his mellow grin as the words ran into her ears.

"But it is godly, because I'm calling you and I'm practically a god. And it's almost eleven." Clary could imagine him smirking to himself. Knowing that she couldn't win this battle, she casually changed the subject.

"What you want, Mister Early Bird?"

"Are you busy for the next two months?" To Clary, the tone of his voice seemed to sound sad, but she brushed it away to the conclusion of her own imagination.

"Yes." Hearing him genuinely sigh with disappointment made her swiftly change her answer. "But I can cancel, nothing big is happening, and I can let Simon take care of things. What are we doing?" She hurriedly rushed through my words.

"Write a bucket list. Five things you want to do, no matter how simple or extreme. I'm doing it too, and we can meet tomorrow at City Airport. The private plane is ready when we are." He talked with so much excitement that Clary couldn't refuse his offer, however strange or last minute as it was.

"One condition." A thought suddenly hit, a way to make things impossibly fun. "Our lists stay secret and we have to do them no matter what." She laughed internally at the thought, five things that she could force Jace to do irrevocably. With a mischievous grin of victory on her face, she heard a slight falter in his voice before he resumed talking.

"Agreed. Welcome to the games, and may the odds be ever in your favour." He drawled, quoting Effie's over the top accent with perfection.

"May the force be with you, Padawan."

"I'M NOT A PADA-" The bright eyed girl seized the moment to hang up on him before calling Isabelle without a moment of consideration of what she could be getting herself into.

 **I hope you all liked this first chapter, which is kind of like a taster of the story. The idea of it actually is inspired from a book by Sarah Mylnowski called Ten Things We Shouldn't Have Done, which a friend introduced to me so thank you Samantha! I haven't read it yet but you definitely should as she is a great author. The next chapters will be longer than this, and please leave a review of what you thought of it and ideas you might have for the story as I am open to suggestions. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter Two - Midnight Tides

**Disclaimer – I do not own any characters from The Mortal Instruments.**

Chapter Two – Midnight Tides

Clary was proud. By seven in the morning, her teeth was brushed to pristine perfection, her hair in a ponytail with a few stragglers of what could have been bangs framing her face, her clothes unwrinkled and even a few touches of makeup here and there without ruining her whole look. By seven in the morning, Clary was ready. She had successfully packed a suitcase and a backpack for the two months which was travelling lightly to say the least, with small portions of dried fruit in a flap in her backpack. Isabelle had insisted on various items of clothing, which Clary had never even seen before and strongly believed that Isabelle herself had hidden them in her wardrobe over time. Almost all of the outfits packed for the trip were co-ordinated by Isabelle, for example, what Clary was wearing as she left the house. Denim wash short dungarees layered over an emerald ribbed tee with a slogan like most a Clary's own clothing, this one saying "no hard feelings" in black, her favourite khaki coloured converse high tops on under knitted camel socks, Clary's plane socks which Isabelle had profusely told her not to wear, grey beanie.

Scanning the flurries of daily commuters who pushed through the crowds in haste, Jace still hadn't spotted the tiny redhead and his heart beat a little faster than usual from anticipation. He checked his phone again, on text last night they had agreed on meeting at eight thirty at City airport, he could see it right on the screen. It was eight forty now, and he was yet to see her in the bustle of people. Knowing the press, Jace had come from the back door after contacting one of the staff, and was currently wearing an old hoodie with balls of fabric gathering on it from age, his golden mane of hair hiding behind it, and a baseball cap which covered the majority of his face. He looked up after hearing a loud commotion coming from a door to the left of him, and following it came Clary underneath a grey beanie which failed to conceal the large splay of iconic crimson, the flashes of cameras snapping around her in bright staccatos imposing on her and squashing her small frame, drawing more attention to her. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jace, and he quickly began to elbow and shove his way towards her, grabbing her suitcase in one hand, wrapping his other around body as a shield from the reporters. Together, they headed towards the VIP waiting room where they greeted with a burly bodyguard who lead them into the room where Jace had already set his own things beforehand. The door was slammed shut, blocking away the reporters and the bodyguard left with a few apologies, leaving the two of them alone in the spacious room. Jace looked at Clary's flushed face and felt the blood pumping around his own and the pair began to laugh.

Clary was drained after arriving in Greece, and shattered after the seafood dinner that she had shared with Jace simply because of the colossal size of it compared to the average meal in Britain. They had agreed on travelling their way across the world instead of zig-zagging around in an eccentric manner, before looping back to the UK, and had told the three pilots in private where they each intended to go, before leaving them to plot a journey before taking off. Clary had been delighted when she realised they were in Greece, Greece was on her list and doubted it was on Jace's. Her suspicions had been confirmed when one of the pilots, Alec, had announced it with a flourish, much to Jace's despair. Simon had arranged a penthouse suite for the two of them, their rooms the size of the expanse of the whole floor, each of them having extensive bedrooms with separate bathrooms, the pilots and staff occupying the floor below, this being almost a vacation for them, as a treat from Jace's family who owned Herondale Airways. Jace felt just as tired as her, and the two of them hardly made it to the front door before collapsing onto the welcoming sofas which seemed to embrace them as they furrowed deeply into the soft material, nothing disturbing the silence apart from the heavy breathing emitting each of them.

Jace awoke in a hot panic at where he was, the fabric of the couch and pale blue walls unfamiliar to him, a thin layer of sweat coating his body from the sweltering temperature of the room. He realised he was still in his jeans and thick clothing after the transition from crisp London to humid Thessaloniki, where they had landed the day before. He still had no idea what he was doing here, or what Clary had planned. His mind diverted to problem at hand, and began to pull off the several layers he had on, leaving his chest bare, before he slipped on a pair of shorts to make himself at least presentable for when Clary woke up. Opening the windows, he looked out to the cerulean blue sea through the walls made completely of glass, overlooking the beach of sand so white that Jace knew that his eyes would definitely hurt after looking at them if it was during the day. An urge to swim suddenly tugged at him, knowing that during the day the beach would be squashed and cramped, with the wails of little children and angry adults filling the air instead of the blissful emptiness it currently held. He quickly changed again into swimming trunks before edging his way towards Clary's sleeping form, her whole body curved in on itself like a how Church, his cat, slept when he was still a kitten, her vermillion hair toned down to a maroon in the dark shadows of the night, her glistening eyes covered by delicate ivory eyelids with miniscule rivulets of lilac traced above them. Her eyelashes fluttered as she slept, dusting the tops of her faint cheekbones, a smattering of freckles adorning her angular nose and cheeks, a thin arm draped over half of her face. He edged closer, feeling the subdued body heat radiating off of her, and prepared to wake her up.

Clary had woken quietly, not knowing what had woken her from her deep sleep, and swivelled gently in her position to see that Jace wasn't in the sofa he had fallen asleep in, and felt her breathing increase marginally as she wondered where he could be, the only source of light being the resplendent glow of the moon. She turned to face the large window which created the whole of the wall facing the beach, only to be met with the bare back of Jace illuminated in a heavenly glow, his back muscles defined and his whole body an impressive display, unleashed to its sinewy potential, while maintaining lean outline. She ached to get her sketchbook and preserve this moment forever, his matchless body, the gold of his hair bleached into a pallid silver in the surreal light, and she knew there was only one thing she would add to it. Clary would add wings. All too quickly, she saw him begin to turn around, and she hastily slouched back down to a random position, hoping it looked realistic. She could almost feel him nearing, she could hear his gentle padding before he stopped, from what she assumed could only be about two meters away from where she lay. Clary lost track of time, just mustered as must restraint as possible to move, as the position was hardly comfortable, until she felt him near closer, a familiar warmth coming off of him in waves. She couldn't stay still any longer, and jumped up at an alarmed Jace who shook back and fell over, onto the tessellated carpet in shock, his eyes still wide. Clary began to giggle uncontrollably, doubling over as her stomach ached at her laughter, Jace's expression only releasing an onslaught of pain at her abdomen but she couldn't contain the frenzied sounds escaping from her mouth. She struggled to talk, and seeing the swimming trunks he had on, she simply nodded while continuing to chortle, before grabbing her suitcase and changing into a simple black bikini with cuts at the edges after noticing the torrid temperature outside. When she walked back out with a beach towel thrown over her shoulder, Jace had his one arm slung as he leaned onto the doorway, his own towel draped lazily at his waist and his abs prominently on show, making Clary's laughter instantly die down at the sight of them. Even in the darkness, she was sure that he could see her blush. Avoiding his triumphant eyes, she jabbed his forehead indignantly before bolting out of the room, only to be grabbed by one of his long arms and felt herself being thrown upside down, her hair tickling his calves as he began to walk out, much to her protests.

 **I hope you liked this chapter, and in the next you'll see exactly what Clary has in store which I hope you will all enjoy. Wow! I got a review and five follows, and that might not seem like much but I really appreciate it from all of you, even if you just read it because it still means a lot to me. This might seem annoying, but I would really like to see five reviews before my next update which will hopefully be in three to four days, if not less. For the four people who review, I'll send a PM to each of you with either Jace or Clary's bucket list based on your choice! Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter Three - Maps and Firewood

**Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters from The Mortal Instruments.**

Chapter Three – Maps and Firewood

Caressed by soft grains of sand, Clary awoke to the crackle of sea salt in her overlapping hair and mellow kiss of the early morning sun. The memory of the night sky still hung in the lilac ripples of the dawn, a crescent moon beginning to fade into its surroundings. Next to her lay Jace, who was already awake but facing away from her, sitting further into the sea with water concealing all the way up to his chest, wet hair trailing down drops to the base of his next. Clary couldn't resist cannon-balling her way towards him in an aimless fashion and meeting his surprised eyes as he turned around at the sound, before throwing herself down onto his back and pushing his face into the water while he struggled to register what was going on. By the time he was fully awake and out of his dreamlike state, his signature smirk was placed on his face even though he was soaked through and may have possibly swallowed some of the salty sea water.

"I know I'm beautiful, sweetheart, but there's no need for you to feel the urge to jump me." Clary's eyes widened at his words, but her expression was quickly washed away when a wall of water hit her face. Growling with her eyebrows scrunched together, she began to slowly advance towards him in a murderous way.

"Clary...there's no need for th-" Jace began to back away, walking deeper into the almost transparent water, his words becoming flustered. The petite girl with a menacing glint in her moss green eyes and a perfectly arched eyebrow ignored his pleads, and let out a single battle cry as she launched herself at his torso, leaving him submerged under the water for a few seconds. Suddenly, the flesh she had expertly pinned down was out of her grasp, and she spin around trying to locate the colourful pattern of his swimming trunks. Squinting down at the almost transparent water, she saw the unmistakeable hawaii print by her ankles and a glimmer of gold. In one graceful motion, Clary felt herself lifted into the air as if she weighed next to nothing, water surging with her, before momentarily being suspended in the air as she was thrown before she was slapped by the harsh waves on impact.

Once he had scrubbed off the remainder of the coarse sea salt in his hair, Jace was dressed and feeling rather pleased with himself that he had managed to regain his normal smell instead of picturing seaweed every time he took a

Once he had scrubbed off the remainder of the coarse sea salt in his hair, Jace was dressed and feeling rather pleased with himself that he had managed to regain his normal smell instead of picturing seaweed every time he took a whiff. He had a plain tank top and a pair of dark blue drawstring shorts on, and added a snapback when he saw the weather outside. Walking to the communal kitchen that he and Clary shared, he sat himself down on one of the high swivel chairs at the island, only to see Clary already tucking into a plate of what appeared to be summer fruits smothered in yoghurt in a seat across from him. Shrugging, he walked to the refrigerator to find it brimming of food with bottles of juices lined up at the door. In the cupboards he was received with the same thing, packed tightly with anything he could ever want to eat, from delicate macaroons to pots of instant noodles. He sighed in appreciation, before grabbing a ripe mango from the large fruit bowl and using the peeler to remove the thick skin, then slicing it into fat slivers and placing it onto a plate. Looking in the fridge, he found exactly what he was looking for, and began to tear off the plastic packaging.

As Clary turned around she was sure that a look of disgust was plastered across her face, the fatty scent of bacon being fried mingling with the cherries in her mouth. She pushed away her food, instantly put off. Jace looked at her reaction with confusion, layering the scalding meat onto the mango, before stuffing it into his mouth and groaning inwardly in happiness. Yes, he just ate mango _and_ bacon.

"Stop staring at me!" Jace cried. "They are both equally delicious products which combined create the most heavenly flavour in the history of food, delighting all nerves and providing a nutritious and wholesome meal with both fruits and meat!" He stated in angst, waving his hands around frantically while Clary continued to look at him in silent horror at her friend.

"But, mango. And...bacon." Clary emphasized, fumbling for the words to describe what she was feeling. They were two foods which just weren't made to be consumed at the same time. It was just, wrong. At the same time, Jace wolfed down the last of his food.

"So. Good." She rolled her eyes, finishing her own food.

"Whatever, freak."

"I'm not a freak."

"Of course not. Do you want to know the activity or not, O Godly One?" Jace's eyes widened at this and he instantly nodded, gesturing for her to carry on. "Well, it's two things but they fit under one category so you can't do anything about it. We're going mountain climbing!" Clary squealed, bursting in the excitement she had been holding in since she had woken up. He took a second to digest what the bright eyed was saying before he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges like rumpled paper. At the exact same time the two screamed out : "MOUNT OLYMPUS AND MOUNT PELION!", him in realisation and her granting him the answer.

Jace had met Clary at the age of seven during an annual party after a charity convention that both of their families took part in, and while the adults had sipped their tall glasses of wine and talked about things he didn't understand, the boy had wandered off in search of something to do that he might actually enjoy. He knew that he wouldn't be missed. As he neared a small door at the end of the hallway, he was glad to finally have a moment to himself without the loud voices and fake laughs of strangers, without the constant stream of waiters and staff bumping his shoulder frequently as they leaned over him to hand over yet another glass of liquid. Opening the door, he found that the room was actually a storeroom filled with mops and other cleaning utensils that he didn't recognise. But laying on the floor was a splash of red and a tangle of limbs, which revealed a small girl whose face was not facing him intently drawing on a sketchbook in concentration. Jace's curiosity got the better of him, and he reached over to tap the girl, who whipped her head around in surprise in a whirlwind of crimson hair. At first she was hesitant to talk to him.

"What are you drawing?" She seemed unsure whether or not to tell him, weighing either option before choosing to talk.

"I'm drawing the mythological Greek warrior, Achilles." She stated this in a clear yet quiet voice, certain on her answer.

"I've never heard of him. Achilles." He tested the word on his tongue, it feeling strange to him. Slowly, she began to tell him stories of warfare and gods and the age of heroes and quests, gradually becoming more confident as she talked passionately even at her young age. It never occurred to young Jace why a seven year old would know of these ancient legends that were foreign to him, though he considered for himself to be very smart even at that age. Over the years, they had grown up together and changed far from the small children they had each been when they met, but their shared love of Greek mythology had never faltered. Jace liked to think of himself being like Achilles, brave, strong and very much attractive. So when Clary told him that the two of them would be climbing Mount Olympus, the divine palace of gods, and Mount Pelion, the training ground of Achilles, he was thrilled and left grinning as if he was high. The two sprinted off into their individual rooms to change in clothes more appropriate clothing for the rough terrain of a mountain.

Clary met Jace at the door of their apartment in yoga pants that reached just past her knees and a star wars tee, her hair in a piled in a bun at the top of her head in the neatest way she could manage, a pair of timberlands on tied securely over her thick socks. She carried a large travel backpack with a pop up tent inside as well as enough food to feed them for weeks in the wilderness, taking up the entire size of her back to her thighs. A thick stretchy piece of material wrapped around her waist, secured by velcro, two litre bottles dangling off each side as if she was camel preparing for a lifetime in the desert. When Jace, the less prepared one from his lack of knowledge of what they were doing, was in less professional gear, just a small hiking backpack slung gracefully over one shoulder filled with essentials.

"Clary, you can hardly carry a dictionary across a room, how are you going to carry that elephant of a bag while climbing two mountains?"

"You don't understand, I searched wikihow on what stuff to bring and these are all needed." Jace snorted with disbelief.

"Wikihow? You trust wikihow? You can't possibly need to take this much stuff, even wikihow isn't that ridiculous."

"We need to bring everything in this bag!" Clary jumped up in a failed attempt to be able to be the same height as him, only to topple to the ground with the weight of the bag.

"They aren't, they aren't sacrifices for the gods are they?" A look of shock flashed over Jace's face, as if he was scared to hear the answer as he pulled her up from the ground.

"No! And you said wikihow is ridiculous."

"Fine. You can carry this little backpack," he gestured to his black bag which was now in his hands as he offered it to her, "and I'll take the damn bag and waters." Clary looked with indignantly but Jace had already begun tugging the bag off from her and lithely replacing with the smaller bag, that Clary had to admit, felt much more comfortable on her dainty shoulders, the belt already removed from her waist and placed on his hips.

"Well, the man said to follow the markings on the trees I think." Clary looked up from the handbook of Greek phrases in her hands, to see that Jace had already begun walking and was roughly twenty metres ahead of her. She didn't want to risk getting lost in the rocky terrain, with only Jace's underwear providing protection during the night. Speeding up her pace to double his, she quickly caught up with him, her chest heaving up and down with every breath. Before Jace could make a comment about her unfitness, she waved one of the hiking support sticks that looked a lot like crutches to her towards a place where the sun doesn't shine, and he quickly took the hint.

"There's no point in doing things the way people always expect you to. It takes out the fun. And we don't need markings on a tree to tell us how to climb up a mountain. You just go up, for gods sake!" He puffed out a breath as if she was an utter idiot. Clary rolled her eyes.

"You're just not confident on your masculinity. You need to prove yourself in front of a female audience."

"I am practically godly, how am I not confident in my masculinity? I am beautiful, I am glorious, I am incomparable. Clary, darling, I'm pretty much Achilles." He ended this with a suggestive smirk and wink.

"A lot of people think Achilles was gay." Clary tried to keep a straight face and succeeded for a total of half a second before laughing again like a crazed prisoner escaped from an asylum. Jace just shook his head.

While the two walked with their sticks prodding at cracks in stone and denting the earth, they passed banter between the two of them, making the time go past them unnoticeably. It was only until the first streaks bearing the sunset that they realised it was time to set up camp. They'd passed many caves that they hadn't explored as they passed, and quickly found another only a few minutes after they began looking. Jace couldn't make out where the cave ended, which made him feel uneasy, the dark shadows elongating as the sun outside grew fainter. He began searching around the vicinity near the cave, making sure not to go too far and alarm Clary, looking for things he could build a fire with. He had visited summer camp annually for four years, a week filled with survival skills and tough activities that he relished, knowing he was unbeatable. Jace knew the fire triangle, it was drilled into his head. For a sustainable fire, you needed oxygen, heat and fuel. Grabbing piles of twigs around him, he stacked them onto his arms before walking back into the dark depths of the cave, the night already beginning to grow.

Clary was satisfied with the work she single-handedly managed, and continued to walk around and inspect every side. She had built the tent, all by herself. She couldn't resist cracking a smile at the shining yellow tent, which glowed in the dark for a reason she didn't understand. Surely in the area of a wild animal, you wouldn't want to draw attention to yourself. To be fair, the tent wasn't exactly the type which had all the sticks and interlocking pieces of metal. Instead, it simply jumped into position once it had enough space, eager to enlarge its folded edged. Clary shrugged, she'd placed bedding inside, which was more than she could say for Jace. What was the boy doing again? Collecting twigs. He'd been outside for twenty minutes now, a baby in the womb would be able to get some branches quicker. She tutted, just as the said boy ambled in, his face obscured behind all of the twigs he'd found. As soon as he was in a clear space, he suddenly dumped them in a pile onto the ground, before walking away towards the bags without even looking back. Silently, fumbled opened each bag and began to sort through the contents. Looking over his shoulder, he simply shrugged at Clary's raised eyebrow.

Jace had managed to categorise the two bags, placing food into the smaller one along with clean clothes and left the rest into the larger. Every item was neatly positioned and the clothes were refolded to impeccable standards. Clary wondered if this boy had ever worked on a shop floor, before realising it was impossible to even imagine someone like him working on a shop floor. He'd brought a small moleskin notebook, within he had listed each and everything that the two of them had brought with them, estimating the maximum amount of days they could spend. Finally, he turned to look at Clary to see her amused expression. He span around to face her, crossing his legs.

"We have enough food for eleven days and three meals each day. However, we'll be taking vitamins because we won't be physically strong enough otherwise for the ascent. At least you won't be." At this he gave her a sly smirk, and began to talk again before she could. We each have three changes of clothes including what we are wearing now, and it's hygienic to change each day. However, the closest river is about fourteen miles away as the map indicates, but there's a stream in about three." Taking in the information, Clary nodded.

"How about, we collect some water from the stream tomorrow as we pass it and take that opportunity to clean ourselves the best we can. Then, we can hopefully reach the river by tomorrow night and properly wash then." Jace nodded.

"You know, we're going to be washing in a river, together, nake-" Jace had a suggestive smile that was abruptly knocked off as he received a backhand slap.

 **Okay, I've been gone for a while... I can explain. I went back to school and was suddenly launched back into the horrible cycle of the education system again. Currently, I'm working on this art project which takes up a majority of my end of year grade, so it takes a lot of time off my hands and I find art takes me to longest time ever, as well as the school play and a dance performance. A lot of references to The Iliad were made in this chapter as well as in my other story Ward 14. All I can say for that is I really enjoy that type of culture and can't help myself from including, but if you need any explaining on stories and myths, or if you like that kind of stuff too, feel free to PM me. I'm not sure when Ward 14 will be updated, all I can say is that the more you comment, the more motivated I am to writing things. I hope this cleared things up for you, and that you liked reading this. To the people who commented in the last chapter, your lists are coming soon!**


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